Menem blasts cat-eating film
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Buenos Aires (Reuter) - President Carlos Menem yesterday denounced journalists who filmed starving slum dwellers eating cats as "traitors", saying they had besmirched Argentina's international image.
"They are real traitors. How can they be so irresponsible as to put those kinds of images that damage the country on all the television networks around the world?" Mr Menem asked.
Footage of poor families skinning, gutting and cooking cats in Argentina's second biggest city, Rosario, last week stunned a nation which is rich in exports of beef and grain, and sparked criticisms of government neglect.
Mr Menem said on local radio that the reports were a "disgrace" and claimed that the media had paid the poor to grill the animals.
Last week, after Rosario's mayor, Hermes Binner, made similar accusations, a leading commentator, Mariano Grondona, invited residents of the Rosario slum to his live television programme, which is one of the most widely watched in Argentina, where they insisted that they eat cats for nourishment and not for money.
The images were shot in the slums surrounding Rosario, 185 miles (300 km) north of Buenos Aires. Industries have shrivelled in the town in recent years and the jobless rate has jumped to 21 per cent compared to a national rate of 16 per cent.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments